The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has fiercely rebuked the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for insinuating that the government supports martial law, emphasising that the KMT is the least qualified to raise such accusations given its role in imposing martial law for 38 years.

The heated exchange between Taiwan's two major political forces comes in the wake of a controversial social media post from the DPP, which compared Taiwan's legislative tensions to a recent martial law declaration by South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol, though the South Korean decree was rescinded within hours, as reported by Taipei Times.

The DPP’s original statement, which was later deleted, described the political environment in Taiwan as increasingly manipulated by “blue” and “white” political forces (KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party), warning that these developments were similar to the situation in South Korea.

The post, which outlined the potential dangers of curbing democratic institutions, claimed that opposition forces in Taiwan were pushing for unconstitutional actions. It drew a swift response from both the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who accused the DPP of supporting martial law and exhibiting authoritarian tendencies.

The KMT, in particular, has demanded an apology from President Lai Ching-te, while claiming that the DPP’s long-standing leadership mirrors the authoritarianism of President Yoon’s government. The TPP further criticised the DPP for masking an authoritarian ideology behind the guise of democracy, branding the ruling party as “democratic regression.”

In its defence, the DPP issued a clarifying statement, asserting that the post was never intended to advocate martial law, but was rather an attempt to draw an international comparison. DPP officials reminded their critics that the party was born during the martial law era and understood its detrimental impact on democracy. "Who imposed martial law in Taiwan for 38 years? It was the KMT," Rosalia Wu, the chief executive of the DPP caucus was reported as saying in the local Taiwanese media.

Taiwan's democratic progress, which ended decades of martial law in 1987, remains a sensitive topic. DPP lawmakers pointed out that Taiwan’s current political landscape has evolved beyond the shadow of authoritarianism. "Taiwanese fought for over 70 years to achieve democracy, and we will never return to the era of martial law," said DPP legislator Wang Shih-chien.